AN: Thanks so much for the reviews. I am a little bit behind in posting—it's my birthday tomorrow; I've been uber busy!—so I am afraid we will be celebrating Halloween and the Spooktacular Ball after after the 31st. Forgive me, please! (I still promise a very fun story!)

Chapter 4

Fran Morgan had brought enough decorations to decorate ten haunted dance floors. There were perfect black, orange, and purple crepe paper streamers, cobwebs, wall murals of crypts and tombs, stuffed tinsel black cats, posters of witches, plastic frogs and spiders, cauldrons for food, garlic bulbs to ward off vampires, green alien goo, and of course, pumpkins. It was all sorts of decorations that simply screamed Halloween. Most things were still in their original boxes and bags, which meant that a certain, nearly retired nurse had purchased the items instead of getting the extras she had simply "laying around" like she'd said.

"Fran, you shouldn't have," Penelope said, staring at the piles that were sitting there. "You weren't supposed to spend your money."

"Nonsense," she said. "It's for a good cause."

"You were supposed to bring leftovers from your hospital unit and your house."

"I did," Fran explained, and then added with a slightly sheepish grin, "plus a few extra things."

Groaning, Penelope laughed. "Derek is going to kill me..."

"That reminds me," Fran said, her hands on her hips. "I'm mad at that son of mine. What was he thinking, not telling me that we needed decorations?"

"Probably that you'd do this," Penelope teased back.

"Well, it's our secret. Tell him the Halloween Fairy Godmother brought it. Besides," Fran whispered conspiratorially, "he can't get mad at me. He still owes me those grandbabies I've been jonesing for."

Before Penelope could respond, Fran smiled at her innocently, batting her eyes. "Care to help him out with that?"

Pen burst out laughing, certain that her cheeks were flaming scarlet. "You're terrible!"

"I'm practical...and that stopped you from all of those supposed to's you were saying," she said and then looked down at her watch and gasped. "Oh! I'd better get back to baking!"

"Thank you, so much—"

Before Pen could say another word, the whirlwind that was Mrs. Morgan bolted out the door.

Penelope sighed and smiled as she surveyed the landscape. "Now...where should it all go?"

Hours later, things were really starting to look spooktacular in the Upward Youth Center. The tables were cleaned and returned, along with a few chairs, to the dance floor that was splotched with blood spatter from zombie attacks that must've happened recently. Penelope had painted the spots on transfer paper and then moved them onto the floor so that it wouldn't be a slippery wet spot that could be dangerous.

Penelope had done a lot of research on her babies before she came down to Chicago. She was the kind that earned her keep—even when she was doing a favor for someone. She'd learned a few special effect tricks that others had for their parties. Some of the boys were hanging the wall murals with James, and a few others were beginning to hang the light sculptures along the edges of the walls. This would hopefully give everything an eerie glow once the fog machine was in place. Sadly, they couldn't test it; Derek was still working on the electrical issues that kept popping up in the center.

"Miss P?" Willie said, holding streamers. "I need that spot for the ladder. I have to put these up on the ceiling."

Willie wouldn't want to hear it—he was tough, after all—but he was completely adorable, standing there, holding the streamers. There was no way in heck he could hang them from the high ceilings. He wasn't just the youngest of the boys; he was by far the shortest. He had been the toughest to win over, but once she did, he was her faithful little prince.

She reached for the crepe paper streamers. "Willie, maybe I should do that, and you can spot me? Deal?"

"Deal," he said with a grateful sigh, quickly putting the ladder up for her.

Cautiously, Penelope began the climb up the rather tall stepladder. Immediately, it began to sway back and forth under her in a unbalanced fashion, and she had to stop her ascent. Now she knew how Sun had fallen! This thing was a safety hazard, to say the least.

She frowned and bit her bottom lip. There was so much left to do and so little time. The party was tomorrow, and there was still the food set up and the music to think of and all sorts of issues. She would simply have to make due with this ladder.

"Willie...hold the bottom tight," she said.

"Yes, Miss P," he said and then added unhelpfully, "You know, that's the ladder that Miss Sun fell from. I was there, and man, I thought she was gonna break her neck for sure."

Penelope groaned internally and took another step upward.

"You know? I'm real glad that you took this over, ma'am," he continued as she tried to continue climbing the rickety ladder. "I didn't want to go up there, but I lost the draw, and man...if I fall an' break somethin', I could be outta football next year."

"Willie?" Penelope gasped through gritted teeth.

"Yes, Miss P?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, Miss P."

Finally, Penelope made the excruciating climb to the top step and reached the ceiling. She began to tape up the twisted streamer. Hopefully, it would radiate in a spider's web fashion from the center of the room, and hanging from the middle would be a big, black, disco globe spider.

Soon, fifty percent of the rays of the web were up. As she maintained her balance, she grew more confident, twisting things a bit more, hanging things a little farther out. She was very proud of herself; she had this under control!

Once the last of the paper was up, she put her hand downward. "Okay...can you hand me the spider?"

"Yes, Miss P." Willie paused for a second. "Uh, Miss P?"

"Yes, Willie?"

"I gotta get the spider."

"Okay," she said. "Let go of the—"

She meant to tell him to release the ladder slowly, but he was off in a hurried dart. Penelope began to wobble and sway uncontrollably on the top of the ladder, and she tried to compensate, taking a step downward, only to lose her footing.

"Ahhh!" she cried as she began to fall downward...into the arms of Derek Morgan.

"Careful!" he said, catching her easily.

"Oh, Derek. Thank goodness!" She looped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. She was shaking like a leaf. She'd been petrified. She saw her life—and the life of her poor legs—flash before her.

He held her in his arms tightly against his chest. "Hush, baby... You're all right."

"I was sure I was going to fall," she said, still shuddering.

He chuckled softly. "You did fall." He kissed the side of her face. "I don't know whether to comfort you or scold you."

"Comfort, please," she offered, making him chuckle yet again.

As her shivers gradually left, he lowered her to her feet. "Woman, what were you doing on that ladder?"

"Hanging decorations."

He shook his head. "Not with that ladder. James was bringing one from home tomorrow."

"But...it needed to be done," she argued with a pout.

"Hell, no," he said and then brushed her hair from her face before cupping it lovingly in his hands. "Sweetheart, don't ever risk yourself again. Everything can wait."

"But—"

"No buts," he said. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "I don't know what I would've done if you'd gotten hurt."

Penelope felt a rush of warmth flood her veins. There was such caring and love in his expression. It warmed her heart, and it made her think things she'd suppressed for years.

"Not get this place decorated, that's for sure," James teased as he walked up. "You done with the lights?"

"Yeah," Derek said. He gave Penelope one last look. "You okay?"

Not now, heart... not now... she chastised herself internally.

"I'm fine," she murmured.

Derek released her slowly and said to James, "Okay. Ready for me to throw the switch?"

James nodded. "Let's do it."

As the lights lit up the room in an eerie wash of orange and blacklight, Penelope stood there, thinking that she felt kind of dim inside. She was there to do a job...not fall hopelessly in love with her best friend. She bent to pick up a stray piece of crepe paper. It was best to remember Halloween magic wasn't real...no matter how much she wished that it could be true.